Ever stop to think about the people who keep your lights on? Who are the people that have to get out of their nice, warm beds in the middle of the night to make sure that you stay warm? They're union workers, and FirstEnergy wants to add a few pennies on the old quarterly dividend by forcing them to work at the company's pleasure, on demand whenever, no matter what. This means that these professionals are not allowed to have a life like you and me. They can't plan anything outside their work life, whether it's attending a child's ball game, or a simple date night with their spouse. Would you want to be enslaved to your employer like that? Or would you look for better opportunities elsewhere?Ever since FirstEnergy bought the former Allegheny Power companies, its management has been intent on busting up its union work force. Unhappy and unskilled workers directly translate into more frequent and prolonged power outages for customers.Below is a letter from the spouse of one of FirstEnergy's union workers. She's writing anonymously, to prevent retribution from FirstEnergy's management. Show your support for union workers by leaving a message for FirstEnergy management in the comments. Tell FirstEnergy you want them to negotiate a fair contract with their workforce!

FirstEnergy, the parent company of West Penn Power and the employer of 695 workers in the several local unions in the area, is engaged in a contract negotiating process right now. As FirstEnergy moves to negotiate, it’s clear that they are fully invested in reforming the way that the former Allegheny Energy has done business and they are fully invested in bargaining for a contract that favors only one side. The company is now proposing sweeping changes in every aspect of ‘work life’ for their union employees. Previously employees in the bargaining unit were afforded the ability to work hard and be rewarded for that work. These are men and women with families who have spent time in the classroom and they’ve spent countless hours learning and relearning safety procedure after safety procedure. They’ve moved up from one job to another to secure the job they have now. They have earned the privilege of seniority, providing the company with an extremely valuable experienced, safe and dedicated work staff. FirstEnergy would like to modify the job requirements effective immediately. Employees who’ve worked hard to put themselves in positions with set schedules would be subject to working at the will of the company. Jobs which have weekends and nights off now – jobs that these men and women have competed for – will be scheduled by shifts or even worse with no considered pre-planning. Workers will be forced to work a 16 hour shift and told to not report the following day, with no predictability and not a dime of overtime pay, effectively eliminating their ability to plan quality time with their families and completely discounting the effort, time and planning that it’s taken these employees to put themselves in these positions. I fully support the company’s right to efficiently and effective manage and schedule their staff. They do have obligation to make the company profitable and provide a decent return on investment. I do find it hard to believe that the best solution for all is to put the burden on the people who come to work, learn their job, put themselves in harm’s way and earn their wage in the field. I believe, however, that it is the easiest way to do it and the way that is the least painful for the upper levels of management. It’s the way that keeps their salaries intact. It’s the way that does not force them to review efficient conduct of business logistics, from inefficient orders and computer systems that don’t make sense to a top heavy management structure. I just don’t see how the public can continue to believe that the company tasked with keeping our lights on is continuing to act from any other motivation than management’s greed.

As I see it, First Energy is putting me at risk by putting their workers at risk. I support a fair contract!

Reply

Patience

5/28/2014 04:26:59 am

This is completely in keeping with how First Energy (through its Potomac Edison alias) treats its customers, too.

It's not possible to boycott PotEd, unfortunately, but if I could, I would.

Thanks for providing more info on just how sleazy Tony the Trickster and his minions are ...

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Not Tony

5/28/2014 05:11:59 am

If Tony pinches that penny any harder, it's going to shoot out of his hand and put out the eye of one of his butt-sniffing minions. Safety First!

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Customer In Chains

5/28/2014 05:36:25 am

Dear FirstEnergy,

I support unions!

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Don

5/28/2014 05:41:12 am

Oh, Boy. Every time I read a letter like the one written by the linemans' wife, I ask myself "Would anybody in top management work under these conditions? Would they give up hard-earned seniority and pay because the company wanted a better bottom line?" I don't think so. The only people who actually believe that unions are the cause of all capitalist problems are those who have never really worked for a living. To all customers of the former Potomac Edison company (pre-AEP), I ask you to compare the value you are now receiving in terms of maintenance, people skills, reliability and billing before the AEP purchase and the service you are now receiving post-AEP. I am sure that the pre-AEP PE was superior to what is now happening. The problems AP/PE/AEP now has are NOT the fault of the linemen and support staff. They are conscious decisions to be a bare-bones company that will generate greater rates of returns than traditional utilities do. The keyword here is UTILITIES. They are usually monopolies that because of the the common need for everyone to use their services, are regulated as to customer rates and rates of return. Utilities are NOT expected to be huge cash generators. They are expected to deliver their products with a high rate of uptime (reliability) and at a reasonable cost. That does not fit the AEP model. Workers and customers are being asked to bear the brunt of AEP's profit schemes.

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Patience

5/28/2014 07:31:52 am

Don, I agree with all of your sentiments, but it's First Energy, not AEP, that acquired Allegheny Power.

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4-Sale

5/28/2014 12:32:41 pm

Does AEP treat its workers any better? Maybe we'll find out when FirstEnergy puts the former Allegheny companies on the auction block. (Oh puh-leeeeeeeeze?)

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About the Author

Keryn Newman blogs here at StopPATH WV about energy issues, transmission policy, misguided regulation, our greedy energy companies and their corporate spin.In 2008, AEP & Allegheny Energy's PATH joint venture used their transmission line routing etch-a-sketch to draw a 765kV line across the street from her house. Oooops! And the rest is history.

AboutStopPATH Blog

StopPATH Blog began as a forum for information and opinion about the PATH transmission project. The PATH project was abandoned in 2012, however, this blog was not.

StopPATH Blog continues to bring you energy policy news and opinion from a consumer's point of view. If it's sometimes snarky and oftentimes irreverent, just remember that the truth isn't pretty. People come here because they want the truth, instead of the usual dreadful lies this industry continues to tell itself. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing.